US to continue with economic sanctions on Iran despite epidemic: Pompeo

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addresses a news conference at the State Department in Washington, DC, the US, on April 7, 2020. (Photo by AFP)

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says Washington will continue with its economic sanctions against Iran as part of its attempts to bring about regime change.

In a news conference at the US State Department on Tuesday, Pompeo once again raised baseless allegations about Iranian support for terrorism and said Washington would press on with its sanctions against the Islamic Republic until Tehran “had a change in outlook.”

“Iran will remain under sanctions and Tehran must change its behavior and the Iranian people must understand the importance of taking this step in order to change their system,” he said.

The US secretary of state accused Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons in spite of repeated confirmation by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran is involved in no activity to make an atomic bomb.

US President Donald Trump reinstated nuclear sanctions on Iran in May 2018 after he unilaterally left a nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed between Iran and major world powers in 2015.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) — known as the World Court — has ordered the US to lift the sanctions it has illegally re-imposed on humanitarian supplies to Iran.

Over the past weeks, calls have been growing on the world stage for the US to lift its illegal sanctions, which have severely affected Iran’s healthcare system at a time when all countries are trying to join forces against the pandemic.

The coronavirus, which causes a respiratory disease known as COVID-19, is currently affecting more than 200 countries and territories across the globe. It has so far infected over 1.4 million people and killed nearly 80,000 others.

Iran has 62,589 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 3,872 deaths, according to the latest updates provided by the Health Ministry on Tuesday.

Tehran has said it does not want Washington’s help in the fight on the epidemic but says the illegal economic sanctions are hampering its efforts to access much-needed medical supplies.

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